Two defense contractors went on a podcast and everything they said was true. In this episode, discover the shocking extent to which our government has privatized wartime operations.

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Sound Clip Sources

• Ari Shaffir’s Skeptic Tank Episode #257 “Money for Nothing”, March 19, 2016.
• Hearing: Wartime Contracting, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, September 21, 2011.
• Hearing: Wartime Contracting, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight, July 16, 2013.

Additional Reading

• Article: Northrop Grumman moving Counter-Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar (C-RAM) capabilities to brigade combat teams by John Keller, Military and Aerospace Electronics, March 9, 2016.
• Congressional Research Service Report: Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations by Jeremy M. Sharp, Congressional Research Service, February 25, 2016.
  • Special Military Assistance Benefits for Egypt
• Investor Report: Northrop Grumman 2015 Annual Investor Report, February 1, 2016.
• Bill Text: Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2016 December 15, 2015.
  • Foreign Military Financing Program
• Congressional Research Service Report: Department of Defense Contractor and Troop
  Levels in Iraq and Afghanistan: 2007-2015 by Heidi M. Peters, Moshe Schwartz, and Lawrence Kapp, Congressional Research Service, December 1, 2015.
  • Data on Contractors released starting September 2007
• Article: Meet the impressive guns protecting U.S. bases from rocket attacks in Afghanistan by Dan Lamothe, The Washington Post, October 21, 2015.
• Article: Dark cloud of legal trouble begins to lift away from Louis Berger byPete Troilo, Jeff Tyson, Devex, August 31, 2015.
• Article: Pine Gap’s new spy role revealed by Philip Dorling, The Sydney Morning Herald, May 31, 2015.
• Nautilus Institute Report: Expanded Communications Satellite Surveillance and Intelligence Activities Utilising Multi-beam Antenna Systems by Desmond Ball, Duncan Campbell, Bill Robinson and Richard Tanter, May 28, 2015.
• Article: Satellite photos of Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan, before and after U.S. withdrawal by Dan Lamothe, The Washington Post, May 20, 2015.
• Article: Blog: Northrop to Continue Developing C-RAM Command and Control System, Signal AFCEA, April 7, 2015.
• Defense Contract Audit Agency Report: Report to Congress on FY 2014 Activities Department of Defense, Defense Contract Audit Agency, March 25, 2015.
• Article: “Disturbing” Waste In Afghanistan: How The U.S. Trashed Troops’ Health And Squandered Millions by Neal Ungerleider, Fast Company, February 18, 2015.
• Article Getting Out Of Afghanistan by E.B. Boyd, Fast Company, January 28, 2015.
• Article: Northrop Grumman Awarded C-RAM Contract – DoD Daily Contracts by Lindy Kyzer, Clearancejobs.com, August 15, 2013.
• Article: Australian outback station at forefront of US spying arsenal by Philip Dorling, The Age, July 26, 2013.
• Congressional Research Service Report: Department of Defense’s Use of Contractors to Support Military Operations: Background, Analysis, and Issues for Congress by Moshe Schwartz and Jennifer Church, Congressional Research Service, May 17, 2013.
• Government Accountability Office Report: Additional Steps Needed to Help Determine the Right Size and Composition of DOD’s Total Workforce, May 2013.
• Article: Sen. Claire McCaskill leaps hurdles to overhauling wartime contracting by Lindsay Wise, McClatchy Newspapers, January 19, 2013.
• Bill Text: Contracting Provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, December 28, 2012.
• Article: The 25 Biggest Defense Companies In America by Eloise Lee and Robert Johnson, Buisness Insider, March 13, 2012.
• Article: Northrop Grumman receives counter-rocket, artillery and mortar contract from U.S. Army by Skyler Frink, Military and Aerospace Electronics, February 1, 2012.
• Article: Northrop Grumman (NOC) Gets $124M Contract for C-RAM Systems, StreetInsider.com, October 31, 2011.
• Commission on Wartime Contracting Report, August 2011.
• Congressional Research Service Report: Department of Defense Contractors in
  Afghanistan and Iraq: Background and
  Analysis by Moshe Schwartz and Joyprada Swain, Congressional Research Service, May 13, 2011.
  • List of Congressional Hearings
  • Type of Work Performed by Contractors
• Article: U.S. Supersizes Afghan Mega-Base as Withdrawal Date Looms by Spencer Ackerman, Wired, August 9, 2010.
• Article: Halliburton, KBR, and Iraq war contracting: A history so far by Angie Drobnic Holan, Politifact, June 9, 2010.
• News Release: U.S. Army Awards Northrop Grumman Major C-RAM Systems Integration Delivery Order by Sudi Bruni, Northrop Grumman Corporation, November 10, 2009.

Additional Information

• Webpage: Northrop Grumman 2014 Election Cycle Lobbying and Campaign Contributions, March 9, 2015.
• Indeed.com Job Openings:
  • Cable Installer and Technician for U.S. Base In Afghanistan
  • Protective Security Specialist, AEGIS LLC
  • Inventory / Warehouse Assistant Manager, Pacific Architects and Engineers, Inc.
• Webpage: USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives April 15, 2016.
  • USAID Budget Report Fiscal Year 2017 March 16, 2016.
• Webpage: Senate Homeland Security Commitee
  • Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
• Wikipedia: Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar (C-RAM)

Podcast Interviews Featuring Jennifer Briney:

• Liberty on Point with Tony Bottoms, April 20, 2016.
• Crush The Street, April 14, 2016.

Music Presented in This Episode

• Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)